A wireless sensor network for the monitoring of large PV plants

In this paper a new monitoring system, suitable for large photovoltaic fields, is presented. Differently from others available monitoring systems the new approach is based on a sensor network which collects detailed information about the electrical performances of each string forming a photovoltaic plant. A devised electronic board has been specifically developed and prototyped which embeds innovative functionalities. Among them the supercapacitor based harvesting stage for self powering of the sensor network and the wireless communication which prevent additional wiring. Moreover a new performances analysis logic has been developed and implemented in a control software tool which analyzes collected data and generate graphical reports for an immediate localization of faults and yield losses.